Mammoth new QR1.6bn storage facility at Hamad Port will help Qatar’s food security

After the start of the ongoing siege of Qatar, Qatar has learnt a lot about the importance of food security.

In order to prevent a similar situation in the future, Qatar is all set to build a QR1.6bn food storage and processing facility at Hamad Port, capable of supplying stockpile for rice, sugar, and edible oils for three million people for two and a half years, reported Gulf Times.

The project was launched after an agreement was signed between the New Port Project (NPP) Steering Committee and Al Jaber Engineering (JEC), the main contractor and designer of the Strategic Food Security Facilities Project.

The facilities will be built on a 530,000sqm area adjacent to Hamad Port. The project will consist of specialised facilities for the processing, manufacturing and refining of rice, raw sugar and edible oils.

Phase 1 of the Strategic Food Security Facilities Project is expected to be completed in 26 months. The facility will have a daily capacity of 300 metric tonnes of rice, 300mt of raw sugar and 200mt of edible oils.

The facility is also expected to help Qatar export food stuff to regional countries, reported The Peninsula. “Once the food-processing and storage facility becomes operational, it’ll ensure a stockpile for 3 million people for two years for each commodity processed on any given day,” Minister of Transport and Communications and NPP Steering Committee Chairman HE Jassim bin Saif al Sulaiti was quoted as saying by Qatar Tribune. “After meeting the demand of the local market, at least 30 percent of the food items processed at the plant would be exported,” he added.

The project will also include bulk storage silos, including infrastructure and conveyance equipment, as well as structures for handling, processing, packaging, reloading and transport.

The facilities will operate as a fully-functional standalone terminal, while 500M of Hamad Port’s wharf will be dedicated for the berthing and discharging of the ships.

German, Italian and Swiss companies like German Ipro, Global Port, Bühler, German BIA and C M Bernardini will be involved in the project.